In the New Plymouth District Court yesterday morning, Cox pleaded guilty to cultivating and possessing cannabis and illegally possessing the .22 semi-automatic rifle.

The court heard police found a small amount of cannabis - along with magazines relating to cannabis use - growing at Cox's city home.

At his Waitaanga Rd property in the Ruapehu District, where Cox spent his weekends, police discovered newly harvested cannabis in his house, plants growing in the nearby bush and the rifle. The cannabis was estimated to have a street value of about $25,000.

Cox's lawyer Turitea Bolstad said the implications for her client were "absolutely huge".

At the age of 72 he had built a reputation for himself, and the conviction was something he would have to live with, Bolstad said.

He had no excuse apart from using the cannabis for ailments including a back injury and arthritis, she said.